


The Water's Fine

by silentstephi



Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age II
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-21 12:10:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3691788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentstephi/pseuds/silentstephi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hawke can't swim.  Her friends are helpers, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Water's Fine

**Author's Note:**

> Story isn't beta'd so hopefully it's not a total train wreck. First share for Sebastian Vael Appreciation Week on tumblr!

Sod it all, if that damn brigand had just tripped over his damn feet instead his fallen comrades, she wouldn’t be in this mess.

Sorcha stared at the ocean waves that lapped at the shore of the Wounded Coast.  She could hear intermittent splashing and could make out Fenris’ white bob above the waves.  Sebastian’s blazing red mop was hard to miss in the hot sun and even from this distance, her stomach flip flopped seeing him bare chested.  

She sighed and plunked her boot down next the rest of her armor.  Sand had gotten into her smalls, making her itch but the cool waves would soothe her irritated skin soon enough.  A thin film of sweat from the thick summer day air coated her head to toe and did little to ease her nerves.  Kirkwall summers felt so heavy, nothing like the dry heat of Lothering.  She still hadn’t gotten used to it.

Isabela cackled loudly behind Hawke, startling the warrior.  The buxom pirate was clad in only her smalls, a black cotton affair, and winked at Hawke.  Sorcha blew a breath out from between gritted teeth and said, “You know, this really isn’t necessary.”

“Please Hawke, the last thing we need is you taking another swan dive and sinking to the ocean depths.  You’ll never make it on my ship otherwise, you know.”

Sorcha rolled her eyes at the pirate and slapped hands on her thighs as she stood, trying to ease her nerves.

Sorcha never had reason to be body shy but the way Isabela eyed her corded and wiry frame made Hawke feel like an especially tasty treat.

Isabela winked at her and put an arm around her shoulders, rubbing sand between them and purred, “It’ll be fun!  You’ll see.  With the three of us at you, you’ll be doing laps around the Gallows in no time.”

“Right, as long as you’re keeping it to swimming, I have no doubts.  And I thought the ‘drowned rat’ was a popular technique too…”

Isabela just smiled at her as they made their way towards the water and the boys.

 

Dunking his head under the cool salt water, Sebastian thought the tang of the sea felt different from the mineral rich waters from his home on the Minanter River.  The principal to swimming in a large body of water was still the same though and he intended to show the landlocked raised Hawke how it worked.

He had to swallow his tongue when he looked up to see Sorcha and Isabela on the shore.  Hawke dipped her toes into the waves, her hands balled into tight fists.  The pirate woman shoved Hawke toward the sea and gave Sebastian a wink as she made her way out into the waves, where Fenris lazily swam back and forth.  Sebastian watched Sorcha’s eyes follow the Rivian out and saw her visibly swallow.

“Isabela!”  Sebastian heard a bit of a panicked note in Hawke’s voice as she called after the other woman. “You’re out of your tiny mind if you think I’m just going to take to this like a fish.”

Isa laughed at Hawke over her shoulder.  “You’re starting with the kiddie pool Hawke.  You can catch up to me when you can stand to get your paws wet and you’re not hissing on the shore.”

The curses that streamed from the warrior’s lips were enough to make Sebastian, reformed chantry brother, smirk at her creativity.   Her phobia of the water, however, shouldn’t be amusing and he schooled his expression. It gave him time to look her over.  Muscles tensed, her red hair bound up in her no nonsense ponytail and her bound breasts and smallclothes covering a toned middle, Hawke cut an intimidating figure even practically naked.  

Years of swordplay had marred very little of her pale freckled skin, and Sebastian frowned.  She was going to burn if they stayed out for too long.  He figured he could keep today’s lesson short then.  

He needed to, otherwise vows or not, today’s lesson would drive him mad.

 

Sebastian waved Sorcha over.  She balked at first, then sighed, knowing she’d have to endure this sooner or later.  And seeing him this close, water glistening off his tanned chest, proving what she’d always wondered about his complexion, she wanted a closer look.  With her lips.    Then the shock of cold water wave lapping on her feet brought her out of her daze and she trudged forward.  The cool waves washed over her gently,making her nervous as the water level rose.

She stopped five feet from him and her frown deepened.  “What it is?” Sebastian asked her.

“I can’t see what I’m stepping on.”  It was a simple enough statement, but Sebastian could hear the words unsaid.  Sorcha’s eyes widened, a slight panicked note to her voice.

Hawke started to hop from one foot to the other.  She could feel the sand between her toes, but then she felt a rock or something bite into her toe and it made her yelp.  She flushed red with humiliation.  She doesn’t yelp!  Then a brush of something on her calf made her scream and lurch to the side.  “Maker’s balls what is in this water!?”

The throaty chuckle closer than she expected made her snap her eyes up to come nose to nose with Sebastian’s shining blue eyes.  “Ah!”  Sorcha had jumped right into Sebastian’s arms without thinking.  She stumbled backwards and landed on her tush.  Icy cold water water almost swamped her, making her sputter.

Hawke felt completely out of her element and thrashed about in the shallows as Sebastian tried to calm her.

“Sorcha, hold still.  Stop flailing and give me your hand.”

She shot a calloused hand out and snagged his in a firm grip.  He pulled her up from the sitting position into his arms and steadied her.  She gasped heavily, green eyes wildly looking around.  She was too panicked to appreciate the feel of solid rock that was Sebastian’s upper body.

“I hate the water.”  Sorcha muttered between gasps of breath.  Sebastian’s gentle laugh knocked her out of her panic long enough for her to realize she clung to the prince.  Bare skin on skin.  She could feel his laugh die as the realization hit him too, and he cleared his throat and gently (reluctantly even?) pushed her away.

Swallowing disappointment Hawke looked him in the eye.  His gaze had clouded, but then the annoying resolve came back.  The brother warring with the prince, and the brother winning out.

Bloody vows.  “So, what am I stepping on then?”

His smile came easily. “It’s just seaweed.  Harmless.  The crabs and other sea life this close to the shore burrow deep, so your toes are safe.  Now, wade out with me.  I’ll be right here, but you need to feel the water around you.”

“Right, no pressure, just swim out into the ocean and get sucked out to sea.  No problem.”

Grumbling she closed her eyes tight and stepped forward.  She could face down a bloody ogre, kill hundreds of bandits and monsters and Maker what have you, but put her in a little bit of water and she felt like running for the nearest Chantry and never looking back.

Carver would have laughed his arse off if he saw her.

Thoughts of her dead brother firmed her resolve and she let the cool water wash over her.

Toes touched something slimy on her way out and she swore, tittering to the side to avoid it, but she kept her balance.  Sebastian hadn’t moved far, lazily wading out further in front of her until he found where he wanted to start the lesson in truth.

The temperature felt amazing, and Hawke almost felt like she could relax as she adjusted to the water.  And then something brushed by her thigh, raising bumps on her skin and her stomach flopped.

“It’s touching me, what’s touching me-“

The sensation stopped and she opened her eyes to see had Sebastian plunged his hand into the water to grab a long wavy green strand of kelp.  It glistened with slime and Sorcha rubbed at her thigh where it had touched her.  Sebastian gave her an encouraging nod and she shook her head.  “Right.  Keep going.  Got it.  Such a slave driver.”

But as she put her foot forward to continue wading, she froze solid.  Hawke tried to convince her body to move, to respond, to listen but nothing happened, and a small squeak emerged from her throat.  She flushed red to the ears and felt like a bloody fool.  When she glanced over at Sebastian, sweat on her brow, she saw some sort of inner struggle happen behind his eyes.  Then he nodded, decision made.  “This isn’t going to work,” he said.  “Head back in Hawke.  We’ll try a different way.”

Sorcha didn’t need to be told twice, and without looking back she bolted for shore.  Sebastian swam toward her, riding a lazy wave in.  She could not get out of the mystery waves fast enough and shivered only slightly in the soft breeze.  A small part of her missed the cool water as the humid air made her wilt.

She turned to look for Sebastian and had to swallow her tongue.  Hawke had never seen Sebastian in anything but his armor, so getting a full frontal of the Starkhaven prince in his swim trunks and nothing else set her heart apace.  His even tan made his slicked wet hair darker than usual, and his arms and legs had just enough hair on them too look dusted with freckles, but not overly hairy.  The light mass of hair on his chest and the trail that thickened as it headed south to his waistband made her realize that she was staring.  Her ears felt hot and she cut off the moan in her throat before it could escape.  Maker’s flaming balls, why did he have to be so handsome and… unavailable!  

Sebastian coughed and she snapped her gaze up at him, like she’d been caught peeping.

“Hawke?”  His brow titled up in concern.  “Are you coming?”  

Not this early in the game, you tease, she thought.  She gulped and said, “Yeah sure, sorry.  Was just making sure I didn’t bring anything back with me.”  She ran her hands over her arms and midsection, making sure there were no seaweeds clinging to her and inspecting the creases of her feet, telling herself she needed to check for passengers that were going to bite her at any minute that she could somehow not feel.

Hopefully the sun would blind him to her flush.  She kicked herself as her fair complexion had probably given her away anyway, but either he kindly did not mention it or ignored it as he led her further inland to the small group of tide pools.  

Three smaller pools, surrounded a larger oblong pool and Sorcha saw as two had refilled with the rising tide.  Sebastian brought her to be the largest of the group.  This pool had less sand and more rocks, large boulders smoothed over by wind and wave.  Many of the rocks looked slicked with thin films of algae and it made Hawke feel a bit squeamish, but she managed to keep her lunch down.

Instead she distracted herself with watching Sebastian pick his way across the rocks with practiced ease.  Must be from growing up around river stones, she mused.  Same principle, right?  His legs tensed as he balanced and she couldn’t help but bite her bottom lip as her fingers twitched, wanting to run her hands over them.  Then he disappeared, and a loud splash heralded where he had jumped in.  

As she stepped closer to the edge, Hawke got a better idea on just how massive the pool really was.  It easily spanned twenty five meters across, and even with the ripples and waves Sebastian had made she could see straight to the bottom.  The water here was clear as crystal.  The rocks below looked deceptively near the surface, but Sebastian caused little ripples as he treaded the water, so he couldn’t be standing.  

She gulped again.  She glanced over to see Sebastian giving her a hard stare and she frowned.  

“What?”

“In you go.  Here you can see there’s nothing but rocks and a bit of algae.  No wee fish to scamper through your toes and cause you to drown from fright.”  His blue eyes gleamed with mirth and she seriously wanted to sock that look right off his face.

“Right, laugh it up Choir boy.  If a Kraken comes out from beneath those rocks I call ‘I told  you so’ rights, just so we’re clear…”

A sheen of sweat broke out on her forehead, as she really did not want to just jump in.  But Sebastian had and he still breathed.  If she scooted against the rocks, her smalls might tear, which would mortify her since things wouldn’t exactly go anywhere .  Hawke grunted then screwed up her courage and clenched her eyes closed.  She took a deep breath and  hopped in right next to him.  

Her stomach flopped as she sluiced through the water, and she clamped her teeth down, remembered to hold her breath and kicked her feet furiously to resurface.  The shock of being surrounded by water and there being nothing beneath her made her lash out her arms, trying to gain some sort of purchase somewhere.

Her fingers scraped skin and she felt a strong, calloused hand clamp over her wrist and drag her up.  Water blew everywhere as she let her breath go as she broke the surface, her eyes stinging when she tried to open them too early without wiping the seawater away and her chest heaving as she sucked in some air.

“Easy now, I have you.  Calm your strokes, just kick your feet.  I’ve got you…”  Sebastian’s soothing tones in her ear, his arms steadied her.  Her heart slammed in her chest, but Sorcha swallowed back the nerves.  She could do this.  She could learn how to swim.  He hadn’t let go of her wrist and she really didn’t want him too at this point but as soon as her mind caught on to it, he put her hand on the edge, and let her go.

“See, not so bad.”  He smirked, though she could see something cross his eyes.  Then he pointed to her feet.  “Kick them slowly, back and forth, and move your hands like this.  It will keep you afloat, so you needn't be tethered to the wall here.”

Treading water felt fairly simple and Hawke liked that she could look down her and see the rocks below.  Nothing coming out to grab at her.  Nothing touching her except the silky feel of water all around and the intoxicating voice of Sebastian to guide her.

“Ok, now lie back, inhale and just let yourself float on the surface, like so…”  and he demonstrated, leaning back.  She watched his knees bob up to the surface and how her little treading ripples made him bob up and down on the surface.  It looked peaceful and did great things for her view…

She smirked and said, “You say the darndest things…”  He had the decency to blush at her then, and she couldn’t help but watch him float out into the pool a bit longer.  Then she blew out a breath and sucked in another, tried to relax and leaned back.

It took a few false starts to get it just right, as she felt like she had to sink any minute, that bodies just can’t do this, but when she finally started floating, she had to agree with the princeling.  Floating on your back did feel relaxing.  It took effort to keep her breathing under control, and staring up into the sky, she had noticed the clouds had given way to a gorgeous and clear day.  

“How did you learn how to do this?”  Sorcha couldn’t stand silence for long bouts, and she spared a moment to glance up for where Sebastian had floated off to.

“From watching my brothers, actually.”  His voice sounded pained, but he kept going.  “Starkhaven has the Minanter River running right through it, so no Vael has ever grown up unable to wade through it.  There are sections that are clear of the more deadly currents, and small streams that branch out to ponds and pools.  Twas a game we played, who could swim the longest, farthest, fastest.”

Sorcha floated closer to Sebastian, though she jerked as she went back to treading water.  Placing a hand on his arm, she said.  “You miss them, huh?”

That he placed his hand, warm despite the cool water, over hers made her heart skip a beat.  He looked over at her and nodded.  “Aye, from time to time.”

Hawke gave him a soft, sad smile.  “Me too.”  Sebastian looked at her and squeezed her hand then, remembering that she too had lost her brother.  For a brief moment they sat in a comfortable silence

Then Sorcha started to sink.  “Uh oh.”  Hawke flailed before slipping under the water, ruining the moment and Sebastian’s equilibrium, dragging him under with her.

Minutes later, Fenris and Isabela found the two of them laughing and coughing at the edge of the pool, Sebastian shaking his head in defeat.  He looked up at Isabela and shook his head.  “I’m pretty sure our dear Hawke is grounded, Isabela.”

The pirate rolled her eyes and sighed, “Figures you’d be a landlubber through and through.  Come on, storms coming in.”  She gave the two of them a once over, noted Sorcha’s smitten grin when she looked at Sebastian and sighed again.   Girl had it bad.  

 


End file.
